Intrigue
by kasugai gummie
Summary: [FujiRyo, OishiKiku, InuKai] ‘... and the student population was just about to find out how vindictive Fuji could be.’
1. Scheming

**Disclaimer**: If I owned anything of value, I'd tell you. And probably get overwhelmed by lawyers, but I'd tell you anyway. See? Honesty is a virtue (that can screw you for life).

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (FujiRyo, OishiKiku, InuKai?), mild OOC-ness on Tomoka's part (so that she could fit the role I needed her to play), multi-parted, nameless multitude of fictional fangirls, and massive pov changes...:cringe:

**Author's Note**: So here's the first part of my overdue grand tribute to the FujiRyo fandom, a piece inspired and prompted by all that **Jennifier D.** has written for the TeniPuri community. This has been sitting on my hard drive for over a month, about averaging a scene/week... and I haven't even started on the next part yet. It's been a while since I've even attempted a multi-parter, so I'm aiming for it to be as relatively short (and painless) as possible.

I'm actually rather nervous if I could pull this off, considering I got the original idea from a ficlet Jennifier D. wrote awhile back. She gave me permission to try my hand at the idea, but I'm still unsure... :le sigh: The things I do for my favorite pairing. :D They deserve each other anyway. :gets pelted by stray tennis balls: Feedback is always much appreciated.

**Edit**: Went through this again and fixed some inconsistencies, bad writing, etc. But I regrettably noticed that after I reposted the edited copy, all the tildes, underscores, asterixes, and even double colons were stripped from the document. That affected the visual appeal of the "fangirling," something which was previously a source of much amusement. Thus, the seemingly rampant use of bad capitalization. In of any case, I might make another format for my Fic Journal, but only if I have time. So please bear with this semi-structurally correct, but less interesting, edit for the time being. :3

* * *

**Intrigue Part 1 - Scheming**  
by kasugai gummie

* * *

Through junior high they had stalked his every move. During graduation, they'd worshipped the ground he walked on. In short, he was their their idol, their savior... their god.

However, upon entering high school, his forever-faithful followers sensed that something was amiss.

It was an issue that left all his fangirls in denial, thoroughly perplexed, and no less than half of them in worried tears...

Osakada Tomoka, founder, president, and Number One Fan of the Echizen Ryoma—Seishun Gakuen Senior High no Oujisama—Appreciation Fan Club (read: the Ryoma-sama Fan Club) stared irately at her little book of Ryoma related statistics. As the kaichou of the Ryoma-sama Fan Club, it was her duty to keep track of ALL that was Echizen Ryoma, and make sure that the appreciation was duly spread and upheld in the student population.

... or maybe not ALL that was Echizen. Taking into consideration the senior members who were stationed at the Echizen's household, it seemed that they could do better without the porn-reading Echizen senior.

Chewing absently on her pen (upon which dangled a miniature tennis ball), she scanned the statistics of love confessions for the month of April, all the while mumbling to herself.

"... doesn't make sense...?"

The detached preoccupation caused Ryuuzaki Sakuno to glance over worriedly at her best friend.

Ever since they'd entered Seigaku Senior High, Tomoka had most definitely changed... or was it matured? Perhaps it was the responsibilities of power that came with when she'd officially formed the Echizen Ryoma—Seishun Gakuen Senior High no Oujisama—Appreciation Fan Club.

Or maybe it was just her hormones trying to ration things out with whatever logic she possessed as a human being. But that couldn't be all. Maturity wasn't in fact the only thing to have come with their entrance into secondary school.

Sakuno tried to ignore the group of wandering second-years who paused to stare at them. She hated to admit to it, but Tomoka was getting scarier (albeit subtly) each day.

"... Tomo-chan, did you say something?"

Tomoka paused in her private ramblings to give the group of gawking girls the evil eye before flinging her hands into the air in a fit of frustration. The pen flew out of her grasp.

"I don't GET this! WHY AREN'T THE NUMBERS ADDING UP?"

Ducking hastily to avoid a violently ricocheting pen, Sakuno stared.

Ignoring the plaintive look, Tomoka pulled out another pen to chew on and continued to analyze the notes she'd scrawled done the day before yesterday. Compared to the past ratings, she decided while gnawing angrily at the much-abused utensil, there was something _very_ wrong going on. But what exactly, she wasn't entirely sure. According to the first year Club Secretary's calculations, not only did the rejections quadruple in the past three years, but there had also been reports of increasing difficulty to track down boy wonder.

It was complicated in the most convoluted manner; even though the club membership had doubled in size during the first semester of its actual existence, their darling Ryoma-sama had also unobtrusively (but successful) distanced himself from his fan club. The only times they'd been able to so much catch a glimpse of the now elusive boy was—

Wait. Tomoka flipped through the notebook trying to pinpoint the nagging feeling that usually meant that she was missing something relatively important.

Mmn... She scrutinized her already written synopsis: Apparently, when it really came down to the basics, Ryoma-sama was technically only avoiding one half of the population; he certainly wasn't avoiding his senpai-tachi on the tennis team...

She froze as realization suddenly hit her.

"... impossible."

"Eh?"

Whipping out her cell phone (whose miniature Ryoma key chain decal never failed to make Sakuno blush), Tomoka proceeded to enter the Club Secretary's number.

"Number Three!" she barked into the mouthpiece. "Where are you right now!"

Sakuno shrank against the wall, trying to (unsuccessfully) huddle and avoid the barrage of stares directed their way.

"U-um... Tomo-chan... Maybe we shou—" The timid girl trailed off miserably when she noticed that her best friend was now in her element and, as a consequence, ignoring her.

"Never mind that! Get me the files of all the recorded Ryoma-sama sightings for the past six weeks! And on top of that, I want you to call up EVERYONE for an emergency meeting today... Yes, even those who called in sick... No, I guess not... But there's something that needs to be discussed! Fine, fine. Have runners posted for any member who's not here today!"

Sakuno watched her best friend bark commands into the hand device, positive that she could hear the hurried string of "Hai, Kaichou!"s following each snappy exclamation mark. She flushed, still wishing she were anywhere but stuck in a hallway full of staring people. This time her tearful whimper wasn't stifled.

"Ryoma-kun no bakaaa..."

* * *

"In the name of our one and only Ryoma-sama, I call this meeting to order!" Tomoka waited impatiently for the melee to quiet down.

Then the random cell phone rang.

"Kyaaaaa! Sorry, Kaichou!"

Tomoka waved off the panicky girl's stricken anxiety with a sigh. "Make it quick."

"Hai Kaichou! Moshi moshi?"

Tomoka looked up, attention piqued, when Number Two Hundred and Twenty-Four suddenly gasped shock.

"K-kaichou! Number Four Hundred and Ninety-One said that she just saw..." Here the girl seemed to flounder. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Number Two Hundred and Twenty-Four managed to force the words out of her mouth. "...that she just saw Ryoma-sama kissing some person on the balcony!"

A moment shocked of silence, followed by a ripple of disbelieving shrieks made its way through the clubroom. The room was almost immediately thrown into chaos.

"Really! Quick, Number Two Hundred and Twenty-Four, give me your phone! Number Four Hundred and Ninety-One! Is this true!" The words were already out of her mouth before she even raised the mouthpiece to her face.

All around her, the fan club began to chatter excitedly.

"Ryoma-samaaaa! I'll bet he's a really good kisser!"

"Hey, did she say whom he was kissing?"

"Wait, isn't that a violation of the club's code of ethics? What if she's not even a club member!"

"Uwaaaah, I'm so jealous!"

"Yeah, yeah, but Ryoma-sama KISSING. Can you imagine what it's LIKE? Aaah, that girl is so lucky..."

Collective sighs.

Meanwhile, Number Three stood poised over her Kaichou's shoulder, pen scribbling furiously.

"Yes, uh huh. Right, I see... wait. I'm not sure I heard you correctly...What? WHAT? What do you mean 'clearly NOT a GIRL'!"

Number Three's pen clattered to the floor abruptly.

Another moment of shocked silence followed the impact as all struggled to process the unexpected bit of information.

All... except Ryoma-sama's Number One Fan.

While one might've thought that Osakada Tomoka would've been in the ultimate denial, to have faithfully followed Seishun's boy wonder for such a long time, it could also be say that she had a certain edge when facing whatever new surprise thrown at her by her beloved prince.

Not to mention, the fact that this one major detail in her Ryoma-sama's life had managed to escape her meticulous grasp was unallowable...

Thus in the depths of her flexible and calculating mind, was one (triumphant) thought.

'Bingo.'

"... uniform? Wearing a... boy's uni... form..." Here she took a steadying breath. "Fine. Either way, keep us informed, Number Four Hundred and Ninety-One."

The conglomeration waited breathlessly as their president handed the standard Ryoma paraphernalia decorated cell phone back to its owner. Tomoka bit her lip as she thought furiously at how she should proceed with the given situation.

Finally, "Number Five?"

The addressed first year snapped into attention. "Hai, Kaichou?"

"Let's see... if my theory is correct, then we should start by contacting the presidents of the Tezuka-senpai, Fuji-senpai, Kikumaru-senpai, Oishi-senpai, Momochan-senpai, and Kaidoh-senpai fan clubs. That's your job, by the way Number Five, and—"

Number Five blinked. Why did their Kaichou suddenly seem... giddy?

"But Kaichou..."

"Isn't Tezuka-senpai studying abroad, Kaichou?"

"Right! And hasn't Momoshirou-senpai already declare that he was interested in Fudomine High's Tachibana Ann?"

Tomoka resisted the urge to rub her hands together in glee. "That's right, isn't it? Good call Number Two, Number Eight, I completely forgot! This makes things kind of easier though. Just contact as many heads of the ex-Junior High Tennis Club Regulars' fanclubs possible, ne?"

"Kaichou..."

"What Number Five?" Tomoka drew herself up and over her podium to loom over her subordinate. "This is of the utmost importance to the well being of our Ryoma-sama! Remember, loving him is not enough! We must also protect him from all harm! The situation demands this unprecedented action! You will GO out there, and CONTACT the other presidents for the sake of our prince!"

"RYOMA-SAMAAAAA," came the answering cry as hearts literally erupted throughout the clubroom.

Number Five looked startled, but saluted sharply. "H-hai Kaichou!"

* * *

Fuji watched with open eyes as the babbling fangirl dashed away, making sure that there were no more curious by-standers before turning back to bestow a decidedly amused smirk at his boyfriend.

Ryoma twitched inwardly at the possessive glint in the tensai's sharp blue eyes and glanced off to the side, sullen frown fixed in place.

Fuji was annoying, he decided once again, for the... well, some number of times ever since they started dating. But it made no difference really. He'd come to accept the fact that Fuji was simply very, very annoying, quite a while ago.

However... ever since he'd graduated into Seigaku Senior High, Ryoma discovered that there was also a sudden increase of things that somehow annoy him (Horio being a given, of course.)

Take for example, his height. Needless to say, he was none too happy when one day he got out of bed and suddenly noticed that he was _still_ shorter than Fuji (by what Inui measured to be a meticulous 2.7 centimeters.)

Regardless of whatever growth spurt the milk-diet and the Regulars training from hell had coaxed out of him, he was still unsatisfactorily short... even more so than his already vertically challenged boyfriend. Upon retrospect, that day had been privy to one very much-amused Fuji and a genuinely upset tennis-genius who'd continuously cursed Inui and his "failure to calculate in the percentage chance of a dominative Japanese height gene." It was also probably the one time when the data player's miscalculations failed to wash smug glee over boy wonder.

Unfortunately, the frustration Ryoma had in regards to his height had nothing on the annoyance that was the mutation of his once manageable fan club. During junior high it was of a moderate size, headed by its self-proclaimed president... Osakada was it? He grimaced. Back then he couldn't quite understand the girl's habit of drawing gaudy hearts around any published article featuring his picture. But in retrospect, he would be forced to admit that the attention was harmless. Back then his persistent but limited followers were all confusing in their fanaticism, but still a generally ignorable bunch.

Only until recently (specifically after graduation) did the tennis club's oblivious baby boy find out just what exactly hormones did to people.

When he started dating his senpai after the summer of his second year at Seigaku Junior High (after much subtle manipulation courtesy of said senpai), the head count of zealous followers Inui oh-so-helpfully gave him was nowhere close to what was recorded for Tezuka's or Fuji's worshippers. Now, according to more helpful updates from his data-obsessed senpai, his fan club membership could rival that of his boyfriend's.

That wasn't what was important though; the main point was that they were SCARY... maybe even more so than Fuji, although that was a highly debatable issue itself. Not only did the stalkage begin in earnest, he also began to see an increase in older women and also another noticeable increase of stuttering love confessions, love letters in his shoebox, gift-wrapped bento boxes, crazy nameless people tracking him down into isolated library corners... the list went on.

Ryoma's frown turned decidedly petulant.

And people had the nerve to wonder why he looked so dismal in the mornings.

Of course the annoyances didn't stop there, although he was ready to admit that perhaps he was just in a stage where crossing the street annoyed him (as opposed to the what crossing the street did to Momo-senpai...) Ultimately though, he decided that it was probably Fuji's fault for being so damn conniving. It didn't take a genius to notice that Fuji was more annoying and harder to understand than most...

"Hm..."

"Something wrong?"

"I was just wondering—have you been talking to Inui-senpai again?"

Smile. "Nn. Are you referring to what just occurred a few minutes ago?"

"Aa."

"Then I'm guilty as charged." Fuji's expression melted into one of innocence. "Though Inui was the one who suggested this. I believe he overheard your complaints about the four consecutive ambushes at practice last week?"

Ryoma leveled a calculating stare at the tensai. "Did he now?"

The smile remained unwavering as Fuji continued on airily. "They're bound to find out sooner or later you know. _I_ personally think sooner is better and was hoping that you felt the same. Unless of course, you LIKE being accosted in public places by random strangers."

"... you already do that."

"Yes, but I'm not a random stranger."

"..."

"You have to admit that this was an effective hint." Fuji paused, smile turning thoughtful. "Think they can figure it out?"

Rolling his eyes towards the sky, Ryoma huffed and merely muttered, "... Mada mada dane," before shrugging. Needless to say, he was still more than a little bit miffed at Fuji, of course, but also because Fuji had decided to give a free show to the not-so-unobtrusively spying fangirl in particular (or maybe because practice had just been canceled).

He knew from personal experiences that Fuji Syuusuke was not one to pass up an offer of free entertainment; nor in the process was the tensai one to let go of that source of amusement. Instead, and again from personal experiences, boy wonder was fully aware that Fuji preferred to see and exploit whatever held his attention to the very end (his height for example: it made Fuji very happy because cornering Ryoma was just _so_ much easier as a result). Had the smiling tensai ran for class president, the American saying, "Milk it for all it's worth," would probably have seemed most appealing as his campaign slogan.

The younger boy blew away a strand of errant hair in exasperation, making his displeasure known.

Fuji, on the other hand, was not at all dismayed. He brushed a light kiss against the sulking boy's cheek in apology; He didn't mind a slightly peeved Ryoma. Not at all. Rather, the tensai admitted that it was amusing to see how far he could actually prod the younger boy before his startling control over his ire snapped.

Everything Fuji did had its reasons, and his previous actions where of no exception; what was to be left unsaid was that Fuji Syuusuke greatly disliked sharing, and unless anybody challenged his claim on what was strictly his, he'd maintain his peace.

Too bad his claim had been challenged... had been challenged, in fact, ever since his boyfriend had entered their lives. He knew he was a very possessive person, and the student population was just about to find out how vindictive Fuji could really be.

Besides, things were getting a bit complacent lately and he could use some fun.

"Saa."

Sharp blue flashed briefly before he closed them with a sweet, satisfied little smile and bestowed another lingering kiss onto the parting lips.

'Go wild, Inui.'

* * *

Snobby. Conceited. Selfish.

Tomoka was doing her best _not_ to jump and tackle attack the head of the Fuji Syuusuke Triple AAA (Admiration, Appreciation, and Adoration) Fan Club to the ground.

It was hard.

Not only was the girl a shameless bitch, Tomoka was positive that their club name was ripped off of some cheap fifty-yen battery product; something that Fuji-senpai didn't very well deserve, regardless of Club rivalries.

"I really don't think repeating this will explain the concept any further, but obviously you don't understand what's going on here."

"Actually, I understand perfectly."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"That's up to you. But trust me when I say that it's _you_ who doesn't understand the situation."

"Really?" Tomoka scoffed. "Enlighten me."

"No."

Sakuno cringed again as icy silence settled like a suffocating blanket around the arguing girls.

"No?" Tomoka stared incredulously at the blonde (dyed) third year student.

The president of the Fuji Syuusuke Triple AAA (Admiration, Appreciation, and Adoration) Fan Club smirked, tossing her head as if to say, "Look, I know more than you. So, suck it up stupid." Flanked by her own fuku-kaichou and elite members, the prissy looking girl sighed exasperatedly. "There's no way that we," she gestured to her followers, "the fans of this school's one TRUE oujisama would collaborate with any heretics and blasphemers."

Tomoka's returning stare spoke volumes that could've been verbalized as, "Woman. What are you smoking?"

"Mou, let's leave Tomo-chan..." Sakuno tugged hurriedly on Tomoka's sleeve.

Sakuno wanted to cry. Since none of Tomoka's club members were available for this inter-club meeting, she'd once again dragged Sakuno along for moral support. Moral support she was, incidentally, failing to produce.

"Your precious 'Ryoma-sama' isn't worth half the talent of the TRUE ouji-sama. Syuusuke-sama is soooo much better than him at tennis anyway."

Collective nods from the other fangirls.

The little vein above Tomoka's right eye looked as if it were ready to burst.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" She exploded, pointed a trembling accusatory finger at the smirking (but now puzzled) Fuji Fan Club Kaichou. "How DARE you call Ryoma-sama 'Ryoma-sama'! Only club members have express permission to call him that!"

Smirks reluctantly gave way to confusion. The Fuji Triple AAA Fangirls stared at the condemning finger.

"TAKE IT BACK RIGHT NOW!"

Sakuno cowered. The situation was going from bad to worse and considering her streak of luck in all public situations, she was certain that she was going to walk away with one less notch in her sanity. However, before any slaps were exchanged and further bouts of hissy fits could be thrown, the saving grace came... in the form of a cell phone ring. Sniffing imperiously, the Fuji Triple AAA president leveled a distasteful glare at the fuming first-year and accepted the proffered device (upon which hung a standardized Fuji key chain decal) from one of the many other Fuji fangirls.

"Moshi moshi? Yes, this is the Kaichou of the Fuji Syuusuke Triple AAA Fan Club speaking. Yes, I'm busy; I'm in the middle of an battl—Hai. Ha—aaaaaaahh? WHAAAAAAAAT! ...What are you saying! Our prince has found a girlfriend? When did this HAPPEN! Eeh? What do you mean you're not sure!"

Tomoka blinked, then suddenly grinned, a rather scary calculating glint (which furthered Sakuno's worry) proceeding to enter her eyes.

... this sudden feeling of déjà vu could actually be exploited...

While a multitude of worried murmurs babbled around the older Club president, Tomoka moved slightly away and let her overzealous thoughts take over. This—occurrence, if you will—not only involved Ryoma-sama, but now apparently Fuji-senpai was also in an uncannily similar situation. There seemed to be a trend forming.

Interesting...

Suddenly all smiles, Tomoka grinned broadly and grabbed onto Sakuno, dragging her protesting friend back to the Ryoma fan club HQs in order to debrief her second, third and sixth on her revelations. Throwing one last smirk over her shoulder Tomoka giggled wickedly at the Fuji Club's misfortune being left behind.

"Number Six, you're late!"

"What's happening Kaichou?"

"Number Seventy-seven just disclosed some very disturbing information..."

* * *

Eiji glanced furtively at the enigmatic boy beside him, hardly paying attention to the random conversations around him. Even though practice had been called off a little while ago, he had still gravitated towards the relatively empty tennis courts, anxious and fidgeting. The redhead trained a suspicious stare on the unperturbed visage of his best friend who'd just arrived from who-knows-where and sporting a rather pleased grin on his lips.

Fuji, noticing the attention, tilted his head to one side. "Something wrong Eiji?"

"Hmmm..." Eiji looked decidedly embarrassed, but also managed to seem determined. "Unyaaa... Fuji..."

"Aa?"

"What did you do, nyaaa!"

Mock surprise. "Did I do something?" Fuji had a (seemingly) genuine look of innocence on his face.

Eiji scowled at the closed expression. "I knew it nya! Iyaaaaa, so you DID do something! Mou..."

Fuji still maintained a perplexed look. "Ne, Eiji. What are you talking about?"

The cat-like tennis player threw his hands up in the air, almost defacing an unlucky passerby in the process. He leveled an accusing finger at the smiling tensai as he prepared to deliver his ultimatum. "Girls nya! Oishi's fan club asking me if the rumors that I was dating Ochibi were true!" He pouted. "They threatened me! Saying that they'd chain me to Oishi's bed if I were to cheat on him nya! And then MORE fangirls showed up, claiming to be from _my_ fan club. Hmph, I know Oishi's still really, really, REALLY shy, and is still uncomfortable with public displays of affection—"

Oh. Fuji smirked inwardly. So his little ploy did work. It was good to know that things were already running so smoothly.

"—but that doesn't mean that they have the right to automatically assume that it's ECHIZEN I'm after! And why CHAINS! I don't even like chains! Gyaaaaaah!"

The shorter boy laughed at his friend's dramatic antics. "Don't worry Eiji. I'm sure they wouldn't do that. Besides," he added thoughtfully, "weren't you complaining that you and Oishi never did much together anyway?"

Eiji flushed. "FUJI!"

Still chuckling at Eiji's complaints (and momentary discomfiture), Fuji turned inward to speculate. FINALLY, it was starting to get more interesting. Having most of the former Regular members' fan clubs cooperating and somehow communicate like this when they'd usually avoid each other as if each were an Ebola virus infested carcass... we-ell...

Already he'd witnessed a variety of high school girls sporting different badges and other assorted identifiers attempting to spy on him, Ryoma, Eiji and Oishi. He'd yet to check up on Kaidoh and Inui.

He glanced out his classroom window to the school grounds below. Belatedly, he wondered how exactly his other teammates were doing.

Fuji chuckled softly. Inui must be having a field day.

* * *

Off in an undisclosed location, left relatively alone in plain sight, a peculiar shimmer glinted in the afternoon sun.

"Ii data."

While Oishi might've been a little more reserved (read: horrified) when faced with the whole scheme, Inui, on the other hand, had no problems at all. Fuji's proposition had offered him something that was now surprisingly rare: an unprecedented chance to collect new and up-to-date data.

The spiky-haired third year scribbled some more notes as he watched a gaggle of girls rush past him. His gaze followed their path almost impassively.

Ah. So they found Kaidoh. Technically, or at least according to Fuji's original idea, their two other kouhais weren't even supposed to be included in the equation. However, when word got out that Echizen's fan club had also contacted Kaidoh's following, the much-amused tensai only smiled indulgently and said, "The more the merrier."

Inui watched with interested as a hissing Kaidoh suddenly ran past, face flushed bright red, from where he was semi-concealed.

Five tennis Regulars; five fan clubs; a hell of a lot of intrigue, possibilities of misunderstandings, and one particular scheming, possessive, sadistic prodigy...

Interesting. Without so much a blink, the tall boy started to walk after his fleeing underclassman and the persistent fangirls, jotting a quick calculation into his notebook.

"Probability of the tennis fan clubs having a collective apoplexy..."

A monotonous chuckle granted the data-specialist a wide berth as the pencil came to a scratching halt.

"One hundred percent."

* * *

**End Part 1**  
Completed: 12/10/03  
Revised: 04/03/05


	2. Casting

**Disclaimer**: If I owned anything of value, I'd tell you. And probably get overwhelmed by lawyers, but I'd tell you anyway. See? Honesty is a virtue (that can screw you for life.)

**Warning**: Shonen-ai (FujiRyo, OishiKiku, InuKai), some Tomoka OOC-ness (because she's older and more mature? Ha), Tezuka's conspicuous absence, multi-parted, nameless multitude of fictional fangirls, and massive POV changes...?

**Author's Note**: (Bear with me. This one's a long one) This is coming along surprisingly fast. Wow... Anyway, the first section was actually fun to write. I was worrying about how exactly should I portray Inui; was he a mad-scientist character? Or was he a sadist like Fuji, armed not with a smile, but with his so-called "edible" beverages (read: cleaning agents)? Somehow, my version of Inui turned out as a compromise of those two possibilities. I managed to envision him as a data-inclined sadist who views the world in numbers and no little eccentricity. The fact that he's supposedly serious while going about like that makes it all the more fun. :cough: so there's my excuse for Inui... moving along...

Um, the fangirl part was harder to write this time (because there are only so many synonyms for 'fanclub members'), but other than that, I do believe that things came out rather satisfactorily... although, come to think of it, Fuji-muse wasn't too pleased with me when I neglected to write in some quality time for him and Ryoma-muse. :nervous laugh: So, the almost non-existent InuKai hints and the OishiKiku fluff will have to do for now. Just another thing to warn about though—somehow, Oishi came off a little bit naïve in this part. Maybe a little too much? Oh, and nobody should feel compelled to berate me for conveniently shipping Tezuka off to some distant school: I've already realized how stupid I was to neglect Tezuka when I first started. AUGH. Had to insert a forever nameless, fictional stand-in captain in his place. :smacks self: Why do I always create more work for myself?

... and why do I have this sudden sinking feeling that this part has suddenly mutated into something far more complicated than what I had planned:cries:

Many thanks to all those who left a review in the first chapter. If you have anything you'd like to see happen, or want to share ideas, you can always leave a note in a review and request a response, or email me. :smile: I'm always open to suggestions :D

**Edit**: Reread and rewrote. Got rid of most of the unnecessary fangirl Japanese because my tolerance for it has completely imploded and revising was a must. I also must repeat that this was just a glorified excuse to write FujiRyo fiction, and therefore has no cohesive plot to it. Not that anybody's complaining though, eh? ;)

* * *

**Intrigue Part 2 - Casting**  
by kasugai gummie

* * *

It wasn't long before Inui found Kaidoh locked away furtively in the boys' bathroom, and from the venomous glare that was currently directed at him, the bespectacled boy could tell that his kouhai was NOT happy to see him. Not that he could blame him either; the behaviors those girls were displaying prior to Kaidoh's escape really defied all pertinent data... thus his willingness to help Fuji with his schemes.

Inui was sure that somewhere down the line, he could probably gather enough data on the behavior of girls with abnormal estrogen levels and later use that information to somehow use those massive fan-followings their rival schools had against them...

Anyway.

What he really didn't understand was, WHY did Kaidoh choose to hide in the restrooms of all places? Not that he disagreed with the boy's instinct to hide from a mob of ravenous females, but really—the restroom?

Inui scoffed.

On six separate occasions was he privileged to see the male haven breeched by overzealous females. During two other separate occasions did he witness a couple of obsessive fans actually invade a closed stall and swarm their idol within. One of the poor aforementioned victims of hormones had to be taken to the school psychologist for a few hardcore sessions before he was able to use the stalls again without having a mental breakdown...

And Inui had been there to see it all.

Of course, it was also a possibility that his moody teammate was actually far more naïve than was previously noted... Inui looked thoughtful.

Actually, that made a lot of sense; Kaidoh, au contraire to his violent tendencies of scaring underclassmen shitless, could actually be quite sensitive and susceptible to the wiles of the world... oh yes, and very easily shocked. He concluded that it was his duty as a senpai, to instruct Kaidoh and prepare him for some of the nastier aspects of reality.

Never minding how wrong that sounded.

A wry smirk wormed its way onto thin lips, only to be answered by an irritated hiss that redirected Inui's attention back to the much-annoyed mamushi.

"What are you laughing at, senpai?"

The data-specialist laughed dryly, and motioned for the other to follow him.

A little apprehensive at having to leave his relatively safe sanctuary, Kaidoh trailed after the taller boy in reluctant silence, casting paranoid glances at their surroundings as they exited the outdoor restrooms and wandered into the afternoon light.

They walked in silence for a few minutes; Inui lost in contemplative thought and Kaidoh (obediently) walking alongside his senpai. When they were but a little ways away from the tennis courts, the lankier player suddenly stopped and wordlessly pulled out Secret Data volume #0503. Flipping it open to the desired page, he thrust it into Kaidoh's face.

"Based on the recurring patterns demonstrated in these past occurrences, you would have had four minutes and twenty seconds more before they decided to be unscrupulous and cornered you in there," Inui lectured blithely, ignoring the flush that was gradually taking over Kaidoh's face at an alarming rate. "Chances of you escaping a second time would have decreased to fifty-eight percent had you stayed in there, and then fallen another seven percent for every minute after that."

If looks could hurt, maim, or slaughter, Inui would have been doubled over, missing a limb, or dead on the floor.

Luckily (for Inui), they were interrupted from whatever Kaidoh was planning to do to his senpai by a frantic yell.

"Inui! Kaidoh! Thank god I found you two!"

The fact that both had turned simultaneously to regard the hurrying newcomer would have been eerie... had the newcomer not been too distressed to actually notice.

"You look stressed, Oishi."

Quirking tired lips into a half-smile, the re-nominated fukubuchou sighed. "Does it really show?" He grimaced. However, instead of launching into a personal sob-story like any other poor sod, he asked, "Have either of you seen Eiji? Or Fuji for that matter?"

Kaidoh shrugged wordlessly. He had just been dealing with his own problems, therefore too busy to actually pay attention to what might've been happening around him at that time.

Inui on the other hand adjusted his glasses, offering the other a closed look. "Maybe. Why?"

Oishi gaped up at his fellow third-year teammate. "Why?" Stressed out suddenly u-turned into furious. "I'll tell you why! This whole thing is stupid! STUPID! I don't know WHAT made me actually agreeing with you two in the first place, but this is horrible! It's like we're freely courting disaster! And disaster ALWAYS entails violence! My god, and violence is BAD!" He clenched his fists, taking in a deep breath as if ready to continue his soliloquy.

In his most definitely off-topic manner, Inui wondered if he should pat Oishi on the head before telling him to go do La Maz exercises...

However, just as quickly as he snapped, said usually calm and collected boy suddenly looked suitably stricken. "S-sorry," Oishi mumbled apologetically, one hand bracing his forehead while locking his gaze on the ground. "It's just that, everywhere I go, no matter where I turn—"

"—is senpai being harassed by other people too?" Kaidoh muttered, slanting an accusing glare at Inui.

"YES!" Oishi cried emphatically. He looked at the currently bandana-less boy hopefully. "Were you being chased too?"

"Fussshhhuuuuu."

Inui sighed. Well, can't help it. It seemed that he would have to take the responsibility of calming Oishi down all by him—

"Aa. Here you all are."

—self. So many interruptions today, it seemed. Inui raised a nonplussed hand in greeting.

"Yo."

Fuji smiled brightly. He turned innocently to a rather exasperated Oishi. "Did our illustrious leader mention why practice is canceled?" he inquired sweetly. "Because it WAS a little last minute, don't you think?"

Oishi groaned, burying his face in his hands. Eiji was immediately by his side, rubbing a soothing hand against the dark haired boy's back. "Nyaaaaa? What's wrong, Oishiii?"

"Buchou was attacked."

Oishi seemed to not notice the pregnant silence that followed his blatant announcement. "You have NO idea how fast the rumor mill is within the fan club communities. By the second to last class hour, well..." He slumped against his redhead partner who looked increasingly worried. "His fan club picked up on the activity, used this whole convoluted mess as an excuse to go 'extort answers', and before you know it..."

Kikumaru filled in the gaping blank for his doubles partner, amazement writ large over his face. "So it was technically our coach who decided to cancel practice, nya..."

Oishi nodded miserably. "Unfortunately, buchou was having spasms when I helped him to the nurse's office; and unconscious by the time I left to find you guys."

Of all the members present, only Fuji and Inui looked relatively calm. The tensai merely offered another comforting (?) smile, while Inui took the moment to contemplate upon this newest revelation.

This was definitely an unexpected turn of events—in fact it was completely unaccounted for in Inui's books. The tall third-year was positively overjoyed. This wasn't a particularly bad development at all. Inui admittedly wasn't one to openly express biased opinions on other people's behaviors, but he REALLY disliked their current buchou. Older by a few months than the rest, Seigaku Senior High's buchou was, in Inui's opinion, arrogant to a fault and with an ego the size of a freight truck.

In fact, Inui would've bet a whole year's worth of Secret Data files that the prick was somehow related to Atobe Keigo—but that was only if he'd been a naïve outsider. That wasn't the real problem though; he supposed that the true reason as to why he held such an intense dislike for the man was that, although the captain had the skills to be number one, his style was severely lacking; and that was enough to prejudice the data oriented player against the current captain. His intense dislike for the older teen had actually gotten to the point where he'd lost count of how many times he'd try to turn the captain into a specialized taste tester...

Inui didn't want to admit it, but he sorely missed Tezuka's efficient form of (Spartan) command.

Unfortunately, Tezuka was studying abroud now. But that was beside the point.

"What did the girls do to him?" Inui asked curiously, pencil poised and ready to go.

"... really Inui, I wished you'd put that away..."

"Sorry Oishi. Data's data. Think of this as a way of ensuring protection against overzealous females in the future."

"..." Oishi gave a grateful little smile to Eiji who beamed right back at him. Then, instead of directly answering Inui's inquiry, gravely turned to Fuji.

"Fuji..."

"Aa."

The dark-haired Mother of Seigaku looked ready to beg. "Do you have to let your admirers know about your relationship with Echizen _this_ way? Isn't this whole setup what people refer to as overkill?"

"Perhaps." Fuji looked sympathetically at his friend. "I'm very sorry, Oishi. But don't worry too much; there won't be any casualties." He thought for a minute before correcting himself. "There won't be any major casualties anyway."

"But our buchou! Last time I saw him, he was under a pile of screaming adolescent girls whimpering about sexual harassment and," he trailed off, confusion replacing his resigned expression. "... protecting his 'family jewels'?"

Eiji suddenly burst out laughing. Oishi blinked at looked at his guffawing partner in consternation.

"Eiji? Do you know what he meant by that?"

The acrobatic player only laughed harder.

Even Fuji seemed more amused than usual. He cast a speculative glance at a brightly blushing Kaidoh and Inui, who was incidentally scribbling down the details as fast as the human body allowed.

"Saa... How unfortunate."

Oishi tore his bewildered gaze away from his cackling partner and once again looked pleadingly at the fair-haired prodigy. "Please? Can't you just make a private announcement or something? I don't want what happened to buchou to also happen to any of you."

"Iya. Really, it will be fine. Besides, Inui's keeping tabs on everything, and," a decidedly wicked grin tugged at the corners of Fuji's lips, "where would the fun be by just merely stepping out of that proverbial closet?"

The former fukubuchou sagged in defeat. He'd forgotten that there was no arguing with Fuji where Echizen was involved; it was almost as if Fuji were in... Oishi hastily cut off THAT train of thought. What Fuji did in his spare time was his business. Nobody else's. And if Echizen was fine with that...

Oishi blinked. Speaking of Echizen... He gave their group a quick once-over.

Where exactly were their two missing members? He bit his lip worriedly.

"Hey, where are Echizen and Momo anyway?"

* * *

"Momo-senpai, 'Fertility' is NOT another way of saying 'Fruity Tutti'."

"Wha! But last time I asked Fuji-senpai the definition of 'feruteruti'—" The spiky haired teen trailed off at the a dangerous glint that settled in Ryoma's sharp gaze.

"Momo-senpai," Ryoma's tone could have been called patient, bland even, had it not been for the piqued expression on his features. "Do you even know what unit you are studying right now?"

"Ee..." Momoshirou scrunched up his face in mock concentration. "Wait, wait, wait! Don't tell me, cause I think I know this one!"

Ryoma growled.

Relaxing back into his previous position, the older boy reached over the library table to fondly tousle the other's head with a roguish smile. "Kidding, just kidding!" he laughed disarmingly. Then the smile dropped from his face abruptly as he similarly dropped his head onto the hard wood table. "Damn it! Why are we studying gaijin poetry anyway! Half of what's written can't be translated to Japanese anyway!" He scratched his head behind the ear, scowling at the quirked eyebrows from across the table.

Then, as if a persistent thought just re-occurred to him, he stared searchingly at his friend. "You know, getting riled up so easily is bad for your health, especially at such a young age. Anything wrong?"

"Not really."

Curiously. "How's it going with Fuji-senpai?"

"He's mada mada da ne."

Momoshirou stared.

Ryoma watched dispassionately as the older youth choked, coughed hurriedly, and continued to stare at him with bewildered eyes. Boy wonder smirked mockingly at his sputtering teammate.

"H-hold on... Y-you're... not... you don't mean?"

The young prodigy rolled his eyes. He did wonder sometimes at how truly gullible his senpai was. Amazing really. "Iya da. Really now, what were you thinking? Momo-senpai must have a very dirty mind..." He smirked at his friend.

"Oi..." Momoshirou suddenly had the most insistent urge to change the topic. "So, uh... I heard that somebody spied on you and Fuji-senpai during break?"

Damn, not quite the best change he could have hoped for. But better than the previous route...

"Nn."

Momoshirou ventured further. "And our senpais are being stalked...?"

"So it would seem."

"I heard that buchou was hospitalized."

Ryoma blinked. Had Fuji planned that too? Rather unexpected.

Oh well. Boy wonder dismissed his contemplation absently: Their current captain was a strange one anyway. No real love lost there.

Momo frowned disapprovingly at the disinterested look on his kouhai's face. "You're heartless."

Ryoma shrugged. "Not really. It's not my fault that buchou can't control his fans."

Violet eyes suddenly took a faraway-dazed appearance. "Our senpais are so lucky... I wouldn't mind a few more girls myself."

"You can have mine," Ryoma muttered ominously. And he meant it too; anything to get rid of those scary people—be it dumping them onto his spiky-haired senpai or scaring them off with a good dose of scandalous truth. In light of that, he supposed that the only reason he didn't argue as much with Fuji's proposal was that he too was more than willing to shed a few hundred fangirls off his back.

Momoshirou seemed shock. "Really?"

The younger boy, however, drawled on as if uninterrupted. "But unfortunately you can't take them either way, can you? If Tachibana's sister were to hear you saying things like that..." He left the issue hanging with a devious grin.

Startled silence followed by a rueful laugh. "You ARE heartless. Been spending a little too much time with Fuji-senpai?" he quipped.

Ryoma grinned smugly. "I learn from the best. Now," he casually leaned across a stack of books to calmly whack the older boy across the head.

"HEY! What was that for!"

"I'm not here to waste my time, Momo-senpai. Your English TA asked me to be your tutor, and I'm going to make sure you can at least score an eighty-five on the next test."

"But—!"

"Try defining 'Fertility' again."

Momoshirou muttered rebelliously as he reached for a dictionary. "No respect for his elders. No respect at all."

"And while we're at it, let's work on your pronunciation too."

"Eeeh? What's wrong with my pronunciation!"

"Everything. Now hurry up; Fuji promised me a match today and since practice was canceled, I want to at least play a bit before I go home."

Mutter. "No respect."

* * *

It wasn't long before the rumors concerning the Seigaku Tennis Regulars had completed a full cycle throughout the respective network of fanclub societies.

Some, who had taken the supposed news harder than most, almost frantically sought out their counterparts; which was how the five presidents of Oishi's, Fuji's, Ryoma's, Eiji's, and Kaidoh's fanclubs found themselves gathered under a wary truce.

All five girls had agreed to a confidential meeting, reluctantly bringing only their second-in-commands. Gathered in one of the unused classrooms, the five presidents stared at each other suspiciously, unwilling to speak into the silence that blanketed over them.

Nobody knew exactly who broke the silence, but all of the sudden...

"Number Two—"

"Hai!"

"Hai!"

"Hai!"

"Hai!"

"Ma'am!"

Silence.

"Uh..."

"Sorry!"

"Excuse me!"

"Please ignore me!"

"My deepest, sincerest, and most heartfelt apologies!"

"... What the hell?"

Tomoka shot a warning glance at her bewildered vice president, who was the last to voice something. Standing so swiftly that her trademark ponytails swayed as if chiding the rest of the room's occupants, she cleared her throat.

"Since introductions would be pointless after this episode—"

"Oh for crying out loud, get to the point already!" Tomoka stopped short and glared at the offending attendee who pointedly ignored the heated look. "What are we going to do about this SCANDAL!"

"It's much too early to refer to this as a scandal," Tomoka stated coldly, not at all surprised that the rude person was the disagreeable president from Fuji's fan club. "So far our sources have found out that apparently Ryoma-sama, Fuji-senpai, Oishi-senpai, and Kikumaru-senpai are all involved with some unknown people. Even the gender is a mystery as of this moment."

"That's exactly my point! It's a SCANDAL from hell!"

"Erm... Excuse me?"

The speaker shied away from the double glare that snapped towards her in peculiar unison. However, quickly regaining her composure, the dark-haired head of the Kaidoh Kaori Rabu Rabu Association tapped an authoritative finger on her desk.

"Yes, well, I have a question."

"Which is?"

"Why am I here?"

Tomoka looked surprised before immediately rattling off her answer. "Why are you here? Because this involves all the current, single, tennis Regulars? And thus requires the assistance of all their respective fan clubs...!"

The Kaidoh fangirl waved a hand dismissively. "I know that. Perhaps what I mean to say is, what does that have to do with Kaidoh-sama?"

Tomoka looked confused. What was that girl trying to get at?

"Kaichou."

All five club-presidents looked up simultaneously. "Yes?"

The speaker was the Kaidoh fan club's Number Two fangirl. Although maintaining a relatively expressionless and professional façade, she still managed to look startled at the multiple response received.

"..."

Her dark-haired commander sighed. "Never mind Number Two. What is it?"

The girl hung her head in shame. "I apologize for neglecting to tell you an important bit of information."

"What is it?"

The rest of the club leaders all stilled, curious as to what the fidgeting fangirl had to say.

The stoic-faced vice president looked guilty. "After being informed by Number One Hundred and Fifteen of the sudden flurry of activities, I ordered the girls stationed in Sector Eighteen to go see if Kaidoh-sama was in anyway involved with this"—here she grimaced—"situation."

Understanding leeched into her kaichou's face. "You don't mean..."

The tall girl looked ready to cry. "Yes. I'm sorry kaichou, but by unleashing Sector Eighteen on Kaidoh-sama, I believe that I have alerted whoever else is involved in this, and thus unwittingly, also put Kaidoh-sama into a complicated position."

Tomoka jumped up triumphantly. "There! You see, everybody's involved in this!" She paused. "Except for maybe Tezuka-san, but he's taking courses overseas... so that's a different matter all together..."

While Tomoka preached of her one true Oujisama's virtues (and inconsequently taking side trips on Tezuka), the two remaining kaichous who had yet to address their own opinions conversed with each other. One shrugged after both seemed to reach a mutual agreement and looked expectantly at the three active members. "It's true that something has been going on," the only redhead in the room admitted. "Recent reports have come in describing subtle changes in Kikumaru-san's behavior as of late."

She sighed.

"So what are we to do?"

Ryoma's Number One Fan grinned. "And you call yourselves fan club presidents." Tomoka snapped her finger, and held out a hand into which her Number Two placed a large, all-purpose pointer.

"We snoop around like the good and loyal fans we are and figure out what's going on!" She slammed the pointer's point onto the table.

"Kaichou!" Number Two dabbed at her eyes with a custom made "Cool Echizen" printed handkerchief, sopping with admiration.

"Che." The blonde Fuji-fangirl looked ready to bring up another argument. However, once again fate decided to shove her into the corner where it obviously thought her to belong by bringing in another underling.

"Kaichou!"

Nobody answered this time.

The gasping runner leaned over her knees, staring incredulously at the gathering while trying to catch her breath. "... Number Three Hundred and Ten re...porting... Kai...Kaichou?"

The president of the Oishi fan club coughed delicately as she addressed the other attendees. "Iya. She belongs to my club." Thus saying, she turned to the harried Oishi fangirl. "Go ahead and report Number Three Hundred and Ten. What is it?"

The wheezing girl, though weary, snapped to attention. "Ma'am! I just received word from Number Three Hundred and Fifty-Two that Oishi-sama is on the move!"

"Oh? Where?"

"To the library."

"Really? I thought he was still talking to the coach," Oishi's Number One Fan muttered to herself before signaling to her second as she stood up to leave. "Alright, then. I hope you girls don't mind, but—"

"Wait, Kaichou!" the runner added in hastily, "he's also in the company with ALL the other Tennis Regulars!"

A good minute of silence greeted this last bit of information before a chorus of three more "Kaichou!"s were suddenly heard from down the hall...

And then all hell broke loose.

* * *

**End Part 2**  
Completed: 12/17/03  
Revised: 04/03/05


	3. Rehearsing

**Disclaimer**: THEY own me. Not the other way around. I don't think my muses are actually mine either.

**Warnings**: Shonen-ai (FujiRyo, OishiKiku, InuKai, subtle hints at AtoTezu), kind of OOC Tomoka (or how about OOCness for one and for all?), not very Sakuno friendly, original character hate, nameless multitude of fictional fangirls... did I get them all? Probably not :P

**Author's Note**: Augh. Trying to write this without fully organizing my thoughts was pure unadulterated hell. Rarely does life's insecurities strike, but this time it did, and it struck hard. The muses refused to cooperate, and school just decided to kick up its annoying self to a more prominent level in my life. But to avoid too much gratuitous bitching, let's cut the extent of my excuses to right here. So, for whatever else I'm to be blamed for, like for being such an unfaithful updater and et al, I apologize. This part has taken way too bloody long to write, and seeing how my folder of unfinished fics never seems to completely empty (instead it continues to breed and spawn), let's just say that there will be one more part, two at most, and then I'll be calling the quits?

I'd like to thank all the faithful readers and reviewers who have waited patiently for this installment. Although I still believe that my style still leaves much to be desired (what with the way I unsubtly injected more pairing fodder into the plot), this one's for you guys. :D

And as another parting note—fangirls are still damn hard to write...

**Edit**: Noticed a bunch of inconsistencies with name-usage that while won't be fixed in this fanfic, will hopefully be corrected in future pieces. Word visuals fixed, grammatical errors are mostly accounted for, and as for plot fluency... well, the question is if you can still see a plot in here.

* * *

**Intrigue Part 3 - Rehearsing**  
by kasugai gummie

* * *

The scurrying sounds immediately drew a pair of sharp blue eyes to gaze thoughtfully after the retreating backs of three skirt-clad figures.

Fuji snorted softly. Seishun High liked to pride itself in having the best of many things: students (prodigies in particular), curriculum, programs, facilities... and now here was persistent infatuation also at its best.

They weren't that far from the library now, the fair-haired prodigy noted as he ambled alongside his teammates. Ryoma and Momoshirou were probably still tutoring and being tutored. It was cute really, for his boyfriend to offer his expertise to his senpai. And Fuji made sure that the task of teaching Momoshirou was enough of a challenge for the young tennis genius.

Belatedly, he wondered if Momo had yet related his advice regarding certain gaijin pronunciations to the young library assistant.

He huffed, a decidedly wicked smirk hovering around the corners of his mouth. He had really wanted to see his boyfriend's reaction.

Oh well. Maybe next time.

"Seventeen."

Fuji turned to the much taller Inui, another vague close-eyed gaze replacing the telling signs of his private musings. "Hmm?"

The thick opaque lenses glinted in the afternoon sun. "There have been seventeen female adolescents following us as of so far." Seeing an interested expression creep onto the prodigy's face, Inui elaborated. "Five near the courts, two by the locker rooms, one behind the courtyard bench, and six who hurried away after we passed the southern entrance," he recounted while ticking off each sighting on one hand. "I'd say that there is an eighty-nine percent chance that the entrance was a rendezvous point."

"Good. Are you having fun, Inui?"

Inui grinned wolfishly, slanting a disturbingly amused gaze to one particular slouching kouhai. "Maybe."

"Oh?" Fuji then turned a benevolent grin to a decidedly pessimistic Kaidoh who was unconsciously following Inui in an almost placid manner. The forever-present grin widened. If sympathy held any meaning to him, which unfortunately for Kaidoh it didn't, he'd feel very sorry for the younger boy. But nevertheless, he was sure that Inui would be gentle with his... approach.

Or at least he felt confident that his data-driven friend's methods wouldn't be PHYSICALLY scarring. Inui still had his work cut out for him anyway.

Meanwhile, Kaidoh shifted uncomfortably under the double scrutiny. "What are you all staring at, senpai-tachi?" he muttered, nervous.

Fuji offered a bright smile with an innocent tilt of the head as the bandanna-wearing boy hissed ominously.

Hmm...

Fuji then transferred his awareness to where the happy-go-lucky half of the Golden Pair was hollering at the top of his lungs. It occurred to him to wonder just how many times his hyperactive best friend had actually been within the repressive confines of a building where silence was considered golden, but that thought didn't bother to fester itself in his sharp mind. He was sure that if the acrobatic redhead were to freely succumb to boredom, Oishi would make sure that nothing TOO drastic would occur.

Generally speaking, Fuji normally avoided making lasting damages to innocent bystanders. However, for the web he had woven for the sake of free entertainment, as well as staking out what was _his_, Fuji Syuusuke had other things to see through to first, things that needed to be done in anticipation for the rest to come.

Just ahead, Eiji bounded the last few yards and up the steps to the large oaken structures of the library doors and beamed with manic glee at his slower teammates. Truth be told, Kikumaru Eiji rather liked enjoying life to its fullest. Thus he could not understand as to why the team-baby acted as a library representative year after year. What good was a world of shy and depressed people? As far as Eiji was concerned, sacrificing order and calm for a little excitement was justifiable. He bounced.

"Hoi hoi! Let's haul Momo and Ochibi out of there!"

* * *

Sakuno wandered intrepidly throughout the semi-abandoned hallway towards where she hoped her best friend could be found.

Peering timidly into an abandoned classroom, she sighed and continued down the hall. Already sixteen and still not any more closer to her object of affection, how sad was that? Absently playing with the tips of her trademark braids, the brunette turned a corner towards the corridor of lecturing halls and conference rooms.

It wasn't fair, she decided mournfully. As much as she loved Tomoka like a sister she never had, she couldn't quite understand how she, first saved by and first to greet Echizen Ryoma in Japan by giving him wrong directions, was obscured into shadows by her best friend's fan club of five hundred and sixty something strong! It wasn't fair; she even continued into the girl's tennis team for him!

One could probably say that Ryuzaki Sakuno was a very (quietly) frustrated girl.

In fact, she was just about to become even more frustrated. Totally engrossed in her own thoughts and not expecting to become another victim of chancy fate, Sakuno failed to take note of the frantic footsteps barreling towards her... Until, of course, she was flung aside as the stampede of feet ran past her and a storm of dust billowed out in front of her bewildered eyes.

"E-eh...?"

WHAT was THAT? Sakuno bit her lip and felt the telltale signs of prickling in the back of her eyes. Why was high school so complicated! And why were people so rude? And inconsiderate? And—!

She didn't get to finish her mental tirade. Braids went flying as the sulking brunette was once again run under by a fresh wave of hurrying teenage girls.

From her disheveled and dust-choked position on the ground, Sakuno stared after the racing forms of three upperclassmen. Dismay was writ large all over her face as she caught the faint but panicked cries of the racing students. Not even a glance back! No apologies made! Nothing!

A dying whimper made its standard circulation after the hallway was cleared again.

"So mean..."

Ryuzaki Sakuno was a very frustrated girl.

* * *

If there was anything of good quality that his perverted excuse of a father had ever imparted to him, it was the supposed words of wisdom, "beware the quiet ones." And, ironically, it was the one piece of advice his father came up with that Ryoma ever conceded to. Wasn't he himself a living example? Granted, compared to certain stoic faced captains who were on more-than-good terms with certain larger-than-life divas, Ryoma wasn't as big of a threat... but said captain was currently in Germany learning how to pour good beer and driving around in a Mercedes Benz.

That left him to his own devices.

But Ryoma wasn't stupid—far from it.

The hailed tennis genius quirked his lips as he let stray locks of inky hair obscure his eyes, pointedly (ignoring) unaware of the puzzled look Momoshirou directed his way.

More oft than not, his dry and apathetic mannerisms threw others off kilter from whatever misconceptions they were likely to make of him. He knew what went around him, whether he let on or not. Besides, surprising those who presumed to know more than him because their egos were too blown up for anything else was a well-indulged pleasure of his. The cat and mouse game was a specialty he particularly liked to indulge in. With his patent of lulling his opponents on the courts into a false sense of superiority, it was incredibly satisfying to watch the other's reaction before turning around and grinding them into bloody palpating messes.

He still recalled when he had once lived and breathed tennis; when his single-minded drive for the game and the ultimate goal of beating his father granted him the means to play the game the way he played it best.

Recently however, he'd also acquire a more sophisticated flair to his game. Now he played with a contradiction of mind-numbing deceit and almost painfully brutal directness. Obliviousness had its moments, but being aware and able to explicitly break the opponent was also enjoyable, and thus was he very rarely bested.

An annoyed cast settled into Ryoma's otherwise bland expression.

The only problems against his methodology were probably the obstacles. When he was still carving out a reputation in America, he'd either broken down those barriers, or found some ways to avoid them. However, all those long-standing tactics changed the moment he joined his junior high's tennis team.

Since bursting into Seishun Gakuen Junior High, Ryoma discovered that some obstacles were just not to be dealt with in such (meaning his previous) manners. Rather, instead of breaking them or avoiding them, the young genius found that inviting their influence into his life proved all the more beneficial... some even more so than others.

Tezuka-buchou, his baka oyaji, Rikkaidai's Sanada Geniichirou, the Monkey King (he was feeling generous)... and Fuji.

An annoyed crease furrowed his brow.

Fuji was always a challenge.

It was to his sadistic boyfriend that he attributed his newly heightened interest in the game. It was to his Fuji that he wanted to tell his perverted father that the original, "beware the quiet ones," would be far more accurate if revised to, "beware the smiling ones."

It was the appearance of the fair-haired tensai into his life that awoke in Ryoma a side he had already acknowledged, but hardly paid the attention to. His neglected inner sadist, Fuji once called it as jokingly. And through that awakening also developed the crux of their relationship: Mutual respect, a strange sort of camaraderie... and the mother of all things to base a long-term relationship on (note the dripping sarcasm here)—competition.

"—ounced as 'riet' or 'liet'?"

Ryoma twitched, blinking owlishly at a... snarking Momoshirou? Yes, his senpai was most definitely snarking at him. Carefully shifting back to a casual slouch, boy wonder muttered ominously, "Momo-senpai is going to fail his next test if he doesn't stop braying like a donkey."

The violet-eyed second year exclaimed indignantly—only to be shushed at by those around them. Flushing embarrassedly, he sulked. "First a horse, and now a donkey." He cast a wry glance at Ryoma. "You really have no respect, do you?"

Non-committal shrug.

The older boy let out a long-suffering sigh. "I was asking if this should be pronounced with the tip of my tongue or by rolling it like normal?"

Ryoma rolled his eyes. Library rep and prized English student or no, he was near to just taking a magic marker and writing "HOPELESS" (in bold black katakana) on his senpai's forehead.

All of the sudden, a commotion startled him from his irritable reverie and almost-there disparagement.

"Eiji-senpai!"

Ryoma stared in wordless confusion at Momoshirou's stage-whispered greeting, twisting in his chair to get a better view at the approaching figures. The addressed third year grinned cheekily at the annoyed glares shot towards the tutor, pupil, and tennis Regulars gathering.

"Ochibiii!" Without ceremony, Eiji latched himself onto the resigned library representative. "We've come to save Ochibi from the evil clutches of all the boring dusty books!" Almost as an after thought, "And Momo too."

Momoshirou looked affronted? "Hey! What do you mean by that, 'And Momo too?' Huh, Eiji-senpai?" the spiky-haired second year sniffed comically. "What am I now? A leftover kid's meal?"

Fuji held back, smiling innocently at the rapidly deteriorating situation. Judging from Oishi's general expression of horrification, and Inui's sudden disappearance, the prodigy had a good solid feeling that their welcome to the library in groups composed of numbers larger than one would be forever limited from here on. Passing an encouraging glance to Kaidoh who looked extremely out of his element, he walked over to where the younger boy had developed a frantic look of entrapment and firmly removed Eiji's over enthused grip from his boyfriend's neck.

Now was the perfect time for an impromptu dress rehearsal.

"Really now Ryoma," Fuji brushed slender fingers over high cheekbones. "Shouldn't a tutor be more dedicated to the imparting of knowledge to his pupils?"

Momoshirou watched the on goings with no little amusement, previous grumbling about being chopped liver set aside in favor of watching his senpai actually work on the obstinate Echizen.

"There's not much I can do to help him when others are teaching him the wrong material," Ryoma snapped, batting at the persistent fingers with a meaningful glare.

Just then, Inui returned, calmly ignoring how Fuji was slowly pinning Ryoma between chair and table. Taking rare pity on Oishi's already frayed nerves, and the fact that the unraveling situation would do no further good to their worrying vice-captain, he voiced a suggestion to interrupt the team's prodigies.

"There are still some details needed to be taken care of, Fuji."

A slight twitch of the mouth was the only indication of the busy prodigy's disappointment before blue eyes flashed open, predatory and dangerous.

"Why don't we stop bothering the librarians and go to a study room?"

Ever willing to escape any more public humiliation and threats of possible chaos, Oishi said nothing as he turned on his heel and sped towards the back of the building with Eiji noisily in tow. Inui raised an eyebrow at an unrepentant Fuji before he too led Kaidoh after the hurrying Golden Pair.

Shaking himself from the intoxication of Fuji's impromptu assault, Ryoma sighed irately and gestured for an increasingly intrigued Momoshirou to gather his materials and texts. Beyond resignation, boy wonder wandered after the rest of their teammates.

* * *

"Good god, what kind of Fuji devotee are you!"

White faced and very much subdued, the latest reporting fangirl underling shook her head helplessly. "S-sorry kaichou... That's all I saw.…. really..."

Already in the last twenty minutes, each separate club had its various "field agents" reporting in, with the same bit of information: the tennis team Regulars (subtracting the hospitalized captain) were amassing at the library. That left much to be speculated over and none of it normal under any circumstances.

Pacing agitatedly, the president of Fuji's official fan club stopped to loom menacingly over her cowering club member. Well away, on the other side of the room, the rest of the club representatives and their respective presidents watched with something akin to pity for the poor cringing first-year fangirl.

Tomoka in particular was absolutely disgusted. What kind of kaichou was that girl, anyway? Snotty, prissy—okay, stop—already traveled down that track once, enough. Barely repressing the overwhelming urge to do something very immature (like making insulting facial expressions and hand gestures at the older club president), she smiled mildly over at her own three trusted club members who were very much shocked at the near-violent display.

"Any word from the R squad?" she murmured as unobtrusively as was possible.

"No. Sorry Kaichou."

"What about the Y squad?"

"Nothing."

"M squad?"

Again a negative.

"Alright. Thank you Forty-Seven." Tomoka sighed. Being a dedicated kaichou was harder than it looked. And when the focus kept on trying (and succeeding to a certain extent) to avoid prying eyes, her duties as the Number One fan grew even more difficult.

Very distressing.

Just as Tomoka was ready to pack up and leave (with an apology to the rest of the clubs, of course) the familiar formula of a cell phone ring vibrated from within her shoulder bag.

"Yes? Yes, this is Tomoka speaking. Listen, if this is something unrelated to the Echizen Ryoma—Seishun Gakuen Senior High no Oujisama—Appreciation Fan Club business, please call back after business hours and—"

She gasped.

"—Eeeeeh? You're IN there? What are you doing in there! I know you want to find out the truth for the sake of Ryoma-sama's well being, but that's much too risky! Inui-senpai's there too you know!"

Curiosity stilled even the volatile Fuji fan club-kaichou.

Looking very much torn between unrestrained exultation and genuine worry, Tomoka bounced to her feet. "No! Don't hang up yet Number Three! Stay on line and keep us informed. We'll be there right away!"

Thus saying, Tomoka handed the small device to her second, nearly running towards and colliding with the door in her haste. Just before she reached the closed exit, she turned back impatiently to where the rest of the conglomeration stood in open confusion.

"What are you waiting for!" she demanded, hair and head bobbing maddeningly. "Let's move!"

"Kaichou?" Tomoka almost stomped her foot in exasperation at the bewildered expression mirrored upon her own club members' faces.

"To the library of course!" she explained with an impatient huff. She turned to face the other uncertain girls. "It's common sense that even those as perfect as Ryoma-sama have secrets. Besides, who knows what boys talk about anyway?" Her grin was one of cunning. "You never know what can be revealed behind closed doors, neeee?"

Twenty-seven blinks.

Almost spasming with pent up adrenaline, Tomoka pointed at the small electronic device in her Number Two's hands. "The captain of my Special Ops E squad is currently INSIDE the parameters of the library and is tailing the tennis Regulars!" She silently howled in frustration. Did she have to spell it out for them?

Then it was Tomoka's turn to blink as a mad dash for the door followed a second after her announcement. She watched in amazement before following exultantly.

Right. That seemed to do the trick.

Kaidoh's own Number One Fan glanced over at the younger club president with open admiration as they streamed through the sliding doors. "Very impressive, Osakada..."

Tomoka's expression could only be defined as smug. "We only reserve the best for our ouji-sama!"

The resident blonde kaichou grimaced as she accepted the bottled lemon water her second offered her and trailed after the others. Nothing seemed to be going right anymore! Fuji-sama's reputation and status were at stake! She HAD to turn this opportunity to unearth the truth and save the one true prince of Seigaku High from whatever evil clutches she could positively FEEL where reaching for him.

As the purposeful group hurried down the hallway, none seemed to notice the lone figure walking cautiously towards their previously in-use room from a completely different direction.

* * *

Sakuno peered into the now-abandoned classroom-turned conference room.

Funny, she could have sworn she heard Tomoka's cell phone ring a few minutes ago...

Stepping back out disappointedly, she slid close the door with an abject sigh.

"Mou... Where is everybody?"

* * *

"Alright Fuji. Please, I'm begging you here."

"Unyaaaa... Why are you begging Oishi? Iya, what are you doing! Fuji! Tell Oishi to get up from down there!"

Ryoma sighed from his seat at the individual study desk. And here was another piece to the grand scheme that only Fuji Syuusuke, all-round prodigy, could come up with.

"Mmn? Stop kneeling Oishi," Fuji reprimanded gently, "If someone where to barge in here, they'd get a very bad impression."

Ryoma snorted. As did Momoshirou and Inui.

Kaidoh hissed embarrassedly at the mental image planted there and flushed red.

Eiji pouted. "Nyaaa, stop stalling Fuuuujiiii!" He widened his eyes to even larger-than-normal proportions. "Tell us what you're planning to do! Pleeeeaaaaase?"

"Saa, if you insist."

Ryoma fidgeted. Strange… for some reason his danger signals were going ballistic all of a sudden...

Fuji's facial expression shifted from one of benevolence to positively devious as his calculating gaze settled upon boy wonder.

Well, it _was_ said that actions spoke louder than words...

Subtly maneuvering his seated boyfriend, Fuji smirked at the wide eyed gaze that screamed, "AGAIN!" and pressed soft lips against an equally pliant mouth.

Oishi flushed and averted his eyes politely.

Eiji on the other hand, found the scene inexplicitly interesting. The redhead furrowed his brow as he watched the couple closely. After a little over one minute, his dark blue eyes started to widen. "Heeeeh..." A disbelieving look settled on his intent features as he glanced from both geniuses, to the library clock, then back again. "Ne, Oishi..."

The mildly red-faced fuku-buchou made a weak sound to indicate that he was listening.

"... I think Fuji and Ochibi-chan just broke our record."

Oishi spluttered at the blunt remark. "Eiji!"

Momoshirou on the other hand, having gotten over his previous open-mouthed gaping shock, started to snicker. Feeling almost as entertained as when he verbally sparred with his rival, he also glanced around momentarily to take in the rest of his teammates' reactions: Oishi, ever the easily embarrassed had found the far wall of great interest. Eiji who apparently had no qualms with voyeurism was staring at the two geniuses with something akin to morbid fascination, and catching sight of Inui mirroring Eiji's actions didn't help control his amusement either.

Even in the limited light, Inui's glasses glinted as he scribbled what seemed to be the start of a timetable.

As for Kaidoh... Momo blinked at where his fellow junior was huddled resolutely in a corner, seeming with all intentions to strike up a conversation with the minute cracks in the wall. He started laughing uncontrollably.

Perhaps the only one truly un-amused by the whole situation was the kiss-recipient himself. Ryoma growled in the back of his throat as he pushed futilely against the form that barred him from bolting. This was insufferable! Damn it all, what was Fuji thinking! As much as Ryoma enjoyed (sort of) Fuji's random displays of affection, voluntarily depleting one's brain of oxygen in front of an audience TWICE in one day was going too far!

They still hadn't played tennis yet!

... and then tawny eyes suddenly started to involuntarily flutter shut against the sight of Momoshirou's hysterical laughter and the disturbing glint on Inui-senpai's glasses...

Only when those bright eyes snapped open again in objection to the lack of air did Fuji finally release the shorter boy with a gentle pat on the cheek before stepping back from physical harm's way.

A low whistle came from Kikumaru's general direction. "Wow... That was so cool Fuji!" The hyperactive teen cheered. Turning excitedly to his flustered doubles partner, he draped an arm over one tense shoulder. "We have work to do Oishi! Practice, practice, practice!"

"Eiji..."

Interesting. Inui noted the doubles specialist's lack of objections before gazing pointedly at Fuji who looked as if he were a cat who caught the mouse and also polished off a bowl of cream.

"Dare I ask why you did that?"

"Practice," Fuji murmured contentedly to his co-conspirator, Inui, who looked on and arched an eyebrow.

"Practice?"

The dazed, oxygen depleted look that had softened Ryoma's gaze gradually shed away as he focused a not-amused stare at his boyfriend's back.

A warning glare. "Fuji."

"For a grand finale."

Grand finale? Aha. An understanding smirk curled onto Inui's lips as he made a mental note to pay the school's Film Club for a visit before the day was through. After all, a few more twists in Fuji's grandiose scheme wouldn't hurt.

Fuji glanced over at where Kaidoh still refused to turn around. "We're leaving Kaidoh," he called cheerfully, tugging the now sulking tennis genius towards the door. "And I'm going to guess that we have more audiences outside, ne Inui?"

"According to my calculations, that's a ninety-eight percent positive probability."

Fuji smirked. "Well then, shall we go visit that new street court in the meantime, Ryoma-sama?"

Ignoring the choked laughter that reminded him of a dying seal coming from where he knew Momoshirou was standing, Ryoma scowled, flung open the closed door—

"GYAH! Oww-geez—AH! RYOMA-SAMA!"

—and ended up glowering at the unfortunate person who was incidentally behind it.

Blanching ever so slightly, addressed boy turned a wary gaze towards the direction of the main desk and back again. The Number Three Fan of the Ryoma-sama Fan Club was staring back and forth from her club's object of affection and a fair-haired tensai, previous pain and shock of head-butting a door fading to a desperate struggle to understand.

"Ryoma-sama... he... and you... h-he... wh-how...?"

Saving the already frustrated boy any further headache, Fuji stepped forward and leveled an unwavering blue gaze at the unfortunate fangirl.

"Iya. Didn't you know that eavesdropping is a very bad habit?"

Ryoma let loose a tired sigh. Seeing that only Inui, Kaidoh and Momoshirou had made it out of the back room (an idiot could've probably guessed where, or what, Eiji and Oishi were at; Kaidoh had bolted the moment Inui stepped out), he continued to watch as Fuji subdued his self-proclaimed fangirl.

"—so no interfering, ne?"

Oh yes. Very much subdued.

Ryoma gave up. Slanting a disinterested look that read, "weepy, whiny, annoying. You still want them?" to his spiky-haired senpai, he left the building very much stressed and in need of a good, intense match. Fuji, who in contrast, was surprisingly calm, followed him out after patting his boyfriend's quivering fangirl on the head mockingly.

Momoshirou and Inui watched as the two other players left, before the younger male offered a charming smile to the near-tears victim of Fuji's possessive sadism. Somehow managing to smuggle out the over-enthusiastic Eiji and Oishi from their "practices", they too escaped from the confines of the building and its now hostile caretakers.

As all exited the library and wisely avoided the noisy incoming mass of fangirls, they came to a silent agreement.

No one, not even Inui, knew of what to expect of the promised drama tomorrow.

* * *

**End Part 3**  
Completed: 02/08/04  
Revised: 04/03/05


	4. Grand Finale

**Disclaimer**: Prince of Tennis belongs to whoever is actually making money off of it—Konomi, VIZ, a bunch of other insanely rich corporate people, or something...

**Warning**: Shonen-ai (see previous chapters for pairings), author's inability to maintain a decent plot, minor exaggeration of character flaws, bashing of many fangirls (all which remain nameless and purposeful-less), and other crimes against humanity.

**Author's Note**: It's finally OVER. OHMYGOD. After 3 months and 5000 words later, the fourth and final part is finished! I'd originally thought that maybe dividing this into two more parts would be better, but I _really_ didn't want to drag it out any longer. And here's this unbearably long finale as the result. While some might like long chapters, I'd still like to just apologize to those who like things shorter and sweeter... which this obviously isn't.

**Dedication to** **my** **readers**: Thank you all for your support and patience. If it weren't for your feedback and encouragements, I think that this fic might've been tossed into the junk pile a long time ago. Thus said, enjoy this last part of a badly written monstrosity?

* * *

**Intrigue Part 4 – Grand Finale**  
by kasugai gummie

* * *

Morning came and, in Ryoma's opinion, was disgustingly bright and sunny; not at all appropriate for the disaster that was certain to occur later on in the day.

Mood still sour from the match he lost to Fuji yesterday, and especially after the almost embarrassing situation in the library, he lay in bed, not wanting to face whatever complications his high school life had in store.

However, for once, the desire to huddle into the covers like Karupin on a warm Sunday morning eluded him. Unable to fall back asleep, even though a quick check with the clock told him there was still a good half hour before it would actually start beeping, Ryoma finally stumbled out of bed.

Somehow making his way through the disaster area that was his room, boy wonder glared peevishly at his tousled reflection.

Why had he been ambushed on a consecutive frequency this last month? Why were there more stalking fangirls in general? Why was Fuji spending so much time with Inui-senpai? Why all the annoying public displays of possession? The evening before, he had wanted to corner his enigmatic boyfriend and demand some answers. Unfortunately, it was he who ended up being cornered... and thoroughly molested in the process.

Ryoma frowned speculatively as he got ready.

It wasn't that having a relationship with Fuji was bad or anything. Actually, although he'd never admit to it, he rather enjoyed the other's company. Despite the minor arguments they had from time to time (and in which he'd never figure out how they always ended up with him in Fuji's favorite positions), the opportunities to compete on and off the tennis courts more than made up for the momentary annoyances.

If a curious passerby were to actually take the time to strip away all the nuances of their relationship, they'd find it to be quite simple, really.

In Fuji Syuusuke, Ryoma found an equal in the game he was dedicating his childhood to. And perhaps, even more importantly, he found someone he could somehow depend on. God knows his father most definitely failed in that department.

With that calming thought firmly grasped in mind, Ryoma shuffled into the kitchen where his cousin was already at the stove and mumbled a greeting. Absently he tugged at his collar and hoped the attention Fuji paid to his neck was out of sight. That possessive bastard, he thought without heat as he finished eating and patiently waited for his spiky-haired friend to come ringing down the street. He checked the hallway's clock and noted that there was still fifteen minutes to spare.

Moments later, the sound of someone at the gate alerted him out of his pensive reverie.

"Momo-senpai is early?" Ryoma muttered as he slung his tennis bag over his shoulder and peered out the side window in disbelief.

But instead of Momo waving from his bike, he was surprised to see the fair-haired prodigy he called his boyfriend standing at the gate with a disgustingly cheerful smile on his face.

Surprise melted into confusion, which in turn gave way to exasperation. He stalked out the front door, intent on demanding some answers.

"Morning," was the only acknowledgement (and warning) he got before Fuji closed in to give him a nice long... greeting.

In the back of boy wonder's mind came the belated realization that both his parents were probably already up at this time, and that he'd never hear the end of it if his stupid father caught him in such a compromising situation.

"Oi, Seishounen!"

Speak of the devil...

"Why is your friend so, early to—day...?" Echizen Nanjirou trailed off at the site of his only son doing SOMETHING with another boy.

And he'd be damned if they were merely "telling each other secrets."

Fuji pulled breathlessly away from the Ryoma with what looked to be a very smug smirk. Ignoring the dark glower that promised retribution at a later time, he smiled pleasantly at the pole-axed Echizen senior.

"I apologize for disturbing you, Echizen-san."

Silence.

Then...

"WHAT THE _HELL_ DID YOU TWO THINK YOU WERE _DOING_! GETTING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET? NORMAL PEOPLE AREN'T EVEN UP YET! I THINK I'M SCARRED FOR LIFE!"

Ryoma shot a disbelieving stare at his wailing father.

"MY GOD, MY POOR VIRGINAL MIND!"

Even Fuji looked mildly perplexed.

"... virginal mind? Are you feeling unwell Echizen-san?"

Nanjirou paused in mid rant to take a good look at the person who was previously lip-locked with his son.

"Hey..." He dropped his raving façade in favor for a shrewder expression. "You look familiar."

Fuji waited as the ex-pro trailed off again.

"Oh, I know! Aren't you the prodigy with the triple counters?"

Fuji continued to smile despite the older man's oddity.

Nanjirou grinned a challenge, scratching at his side lazily. "Want to play a game with me?"

The ever-present smile faltered.

"I don't believe this," Ryoma muttered before stepping up to prod his father in the chest.

"You're getting old, baka oyaji," he told the indignant ex-tennis-pro in monk's dress wear. "If you really have forgotten already, Fuji-senpai was just over here last week."

"... Oh... Right." The unshaven man had the grace to look sheepish. "Huh... Then I guess it's okay," Nanjirou allowed as he squinted at the strained smile on Fuji's face, "since you're rather pretty for a boy."

Fuji's smile froze on his face.

Ryoma rolled his eyes. "We're _leaving_ old man," he announced pointedly, hooking an arm through the taller boy's elbow and pulling him towards the opened gate. "And don't forget to find a better hiding place for your magazines if you want them to last longer. Kaasan almost found them the last time you stuffed them down the laundry basket."

Nanjirou spluttered at the retreating backs of his fuming son and his pretty boyfriend.

"Che. Youth these days," he muttered before allowing Ryoma's parting comment to fully sink in. "My magazine's? What does that have to do with the laundry? Never mind that today's laundry da—OH SHIT!" The scraggly-faced monk blanched as his wife's outraged yell suddenly followed his realization in an echo through their compound.

* * *

Hearing his father's anguished wails die off into the distance, Ryoma relaxed with a slight snort before letting go of Fuji's arm and falling slightly behind the third-year.

"I hope you don't mind me walking you to school."

They continued to walk in relative silence for most of the way, more or less comfortable with just each other's presence.

Until of course, the younger boy broke the lull with a characteristic challenge to Fuji's most recent actions.

"Why?"

Such a simple question. Yet the potential of it exploding like a can of Ponta under Inui's ministrations was decidedly high.

"Why not?"

Tawny eyes blinked in surprise before the younger tennis player growled in annoyance. "Fuji."

Smiling thoughtfully, Fuji mildly responded to boy wonder's surly demand without rancor.

"Remember when you told me of that gaijin saying? 'Coming out of the closet'?"

Ryoma frowned warily. "... yeah..."

"You could say that I decided to give our adoring fans a little time to brace themselves before doing just that."

"... I see."

"Do you really?" Fuji's smile grew wider at the skeptical stare leveled at him. "The fan club uproars from yesterday were really all just results of their overactive imaginations taking innocent hints and running away with them," he finished innocently, stopping just a few blocks away from the school's main gate.

Turning to face his kouhai, Fuji allowed his smile to slide away and reveal a very serious prodigy.

"Ne, Ryoma."

"...?"

"Do you like to share?"

Boy wonder allowed a quizzical look to pass over his face before turning to look the other way. "... Iyada," he finally muttered. "Not really."

Almost instantaneously, the beguiling smile was back on. "Saa, that's good then."

What Fuji left unspoken didn't need voicing either.

Dating the tensai for a good two years, as well as having been acquainted with him for even longer a period of time, had given Ryoma a relative edge over others when it came to trying to second guess the enigmatic prodigy (which incidentally wasn't a very smart nor productive thing to do in the first place, but still…), certain things became fairly predictable after years of close companionship with the other, no matter how hard boy wonder tried to avoid them.

Certain things like Fuji's "unique" brand of humor, to be exact.

And while Ryoma was self-admittedly not the most attentive person in the world, he was still sharper than the average student; he was able to put two and two together and realize what exactly his boyfriend's twisted sense of humor had cooked up to torment the entire student body with.

Let it be said that Fuji Syuusuke was nothing if not thorough.

Being landed in a shit load of trouble wasn't a new or particularly uncommon occurrence when playing opponents much larger and more vicious than he was the norm. After a while, one tended to become immune to the shocks of unnatural occurrences if they happened on a regular basis.

On the other hand, having to play someone who was out for his blood wasn't quite the same as being humiliated in front of the entire student population, give or take a few faculty members.

It was an entirely different matter actually.

Eyes widening as unwanted realization sunk in, Ryoma stared at the slightly taller boy. "You don't mean..."

Sharp blue eyes glinted wickedly and Fuji hummed noncommittally before reaching out and softly patting his horrified boyfriend on the cheek.

Sliding his hand down the dark haired boy's face in a parody of a caress, Fuji took hold of one wiry arm before pulling the otherwise immobile boy towards the looming school entrance.

"This should be fun."

Now, where had he heard THAT before? Cringing inwardly, Ryoma suddenly found himself with the overwhelming urge to run to the nearest bomb shelter and hide.

* * *

It was still relatively early when Inui finished meeting with the president of the Film Club. Sliding the door softly behind him, he smiled, satisfied with the progress of his and Fuji's plans.

While he preferred his own campaign cum relationship with Kaidoh to remain relatively in the dark for a while longer, the situation surrounding Fuji and Echizen provided as good of a data source as any. In addition, drawing in Oishi and Kikumaru was an unexpected but welcomed bonus for the how to on dealing with fangirls and manipulating relationships.

Inui pulled out his cell and speed-dialed Fuji's number.

"... Fuji? It's Inui. I just got the Film Club's support, and they even offered the use of their equipment for minimum payment..."

* * *

The majority of the school day went along smoothly enough. Despite the minor public outbreaks of overenthusiastic fangirl-ism, nothing to the extreme left of bizarreness occurred to disrupt the natural flow of high school life.

What went on within the protective boundaries of the coalition of fan clubs however, was an entirely different story.

"Something big is going to happen today! The scandal is finally going to be resolved! I can feel it!"

Tomoka bit back the scathing remark that was on the tip of her tongue. After what might have happened yesterday in the library, it was _obvious_ that something was going on. They'd found her Number Three withdrawn and quietly cowering near a study room, but unfortunately couldn't get any pertinent clues from the traumatized girl.

"Fuji-sama's going to be the one who fixes everything, of course, and—"

"For the love of Kikumaru Eiji, would you just shut up! We ALL know that something's going to happen today. What little we got from Tomoka-san's club member clearly hinted at that. So just shove it will you?"

"Amen," the Kikumaru fan club vice president intoned respectfully.

Tomoka blinked.

In fact, all four fan club presidents blinked at the outburst... excluding the petite redhead Kaichou of Kikumaru's fan club from where the exclamation originated.

The smaller girl scowled at the bleached Number One Fuji Fan before rudely dismissing the other third year girl with a curt toss of her head.

"So, are we all agreed that we should get to the bottom of this as soon as possible?" she asked solicitously, inclining her head specifically in Tomoka's direction. "My girls are getting restlessly because Kikumaru-sama and Oishi-senpai are always found in the vicinity of Echizen-kun and Fuji-senpai these last few days."

Three "un's", followed by a surlier "hmph" met her inquiry.

Tomoka beamed energetically. Finally they were going to get somewhere! "We'll all gather at the tennis courts at the end of school today, okay?" she urged.

Four distinctive sounds of itineraries being flipped opened and searched.

"Ah, no game today."

"Yes, only practice."

"Will we be disturbing them though?"

"Don't mind, don't mind," Tomoka cackled gleefully, leaping from her seat as the bell rang to signal the end of the lunch break. "Our duties as Number One fans state that some comforts need to be sacrificed in order to ensure the most efficient flow of support and love to Ryoma-sama and his senpai-tachi." She flashed a cheeky victory sign, "So I'll be seeing all your clubs after the last bell on the courts?"

"Nicely put, Osakada," the matron-like President of Oishi's fan club nodded approvingly.

"We'll be there."

* * *

The last dismissal bell was met by a mixed bag of emotions from a good proportion of the student body.

Some unsuspecting few, mercifully unaware of the brewing conflicts, hurried home. Others who belonged in non-tennis related sports clubs continued blissfully in their own little worlds of after school practices.

A good majority, however, wasn't as carefree when the last class ended.

Inui, milking his skills as a master data-collector for all he was worth, speedily made his rounds to all the Regulars' fan clubs' headquarters. After updating his notebook with what he had dubbed as "The Nuances of High School Politics," he hurried to the Film Club's room to pick up the promised video equipment.

Truth be told, although he was obviously running himself ragged to keep up-to-date with the minute-by-minute changes in Fuji's grand scheme, he _was_ enjoying himself immensely.

The ringing of his cell phone reminded him to hurry up and actually get to the courts before anything important was missed.

"Inui speaking. Aa, Fuji... Yes, I'm on my way. Should I bring anything in particular?... No, I already grabbed the video camera... So that should be it, hm?"

Inui hurried down the paths towards the tennis courts before hanging up the moment he saw the fair-haired tensai wave at him from within the fenced area. Already there was a sizable gathering of spectators, all distinguished by badges and communist-like armbands.

The giant banners hovering above each grouping were kind of blatant too.

Inui smiled in anticipation, checking off a mental list as he made his way towards the smiling prodigy and the team's surly genius.

"Your club's membership has increased by twenty-four percent since last month," he remarked to his shorter teammate.

"Saa... This is going to be interesting. Ne, Echizen-kun?"

Ryoma glanced dryly at his "Fuji-senpai," before turning his attention back to the rest of the non-Regular club members. Boy wonder smirked. It was funny, actually, to see boys older than him gathered a little off to the side because their hormones and sense of public decency couldn't quite come to an agreement.

He'd been watching his teammates the moment the bands of fangirls started arriving. Shock was the first thing that hit Seigaku's edgy tennis team. A mixture of envy and utter confusion generally followed up that initial reaction.

Shock. "Woah... so many pretty girls..."

"Are they ALL here for the senpais?"

"No. I think that chunk to the far left is Echizen's."

Envy. "Aaw man... Lucky brat."

Confusion. "Huh? Why are there so many girls?"

"Dude, where'd they all come from?"

"... Why am I suddenly glad that there's a nice metal fence between them and the senpais?"

And... "Hey ladiiiieees... Are you all here to taste the greatness that is Horio-sama's three years of dating experience?"

... and that would be Horio as a first year in high school.

Some of the gathered fangirls cringed away from some of the more forward tennis club members (namely Horio in all his blown up ego.) However, the majority had their attention focused on the three third-years, two second-years, and one first-year Regular.

They also tried to ignore the evil grin that had surfaced on Inui's bespectacled face.

The noise level rose continuously as their coach oh-so-conveniently called in to tell them that she was going to be late in order to check up on their still incapacitated captain.

Off to the side, Momoshirou and Kaidoh suddenly found themselves uncomfortably close to the tall third-year player.

Watching as the drama slowly unfolded in front of his eyes, the Dunk Smash specialist unconsciously tried to drown out the various octaves of fangirl squeals by talking to his fellow second-year Regular.

"Inui-senpai is scarier than usual today."

Kaidoh only hissed his agreement.

"I wonder why."

Silence reigned in their untouched corner while chaos continued to rampage between the tennis courts and the area beyond the fences.

Finally, in a very detached manner, the spiky-haired tennis player turned to give his older teammate a look of muted horror. "... You're a very scary person, Inui-senpai."

"Hmm?" The glinting glasses didn't look too promising. They never did. "I see. Thank you."

"... that wasn't meant as a compliment."

"Fushuuuuuuu—"

The manic light bouncing off the thick lenses intensified.

"Is that so?"

If there was a list for the people that Momo vowed to never cross for the sake of living, Fuji, Inui, and Tezuka would have been printed at the top in bolded, permanent letters.

"... Never mind."

Momoshirou stared at the off-amusement that twisted the taller boy's smile, before edging away as subtly as he could.

Kaidoh mirrored his actions.

They stopped to simultaneously stare at each other when they reached a distance of three feet away from the analytical tennis player. Nerves already fraying under the suspenseful atmosphere, they suddenly snapped—

"Stop following me around, Snakeboy!"

Kaidoh gave his rival the evil eye as they both huddled away from their data-collecting senpai. "Che. Don't make a scene, idiot."

"I'M not making a scene you stupid snake. YOU'RE the one who's invading my personal space!"

Hiss. "Look who's talking now, you damn monkey. You're noisy either way."

"Shut up!"

"Get out of my face!"

"You get out of mine!"

Once again unnoticed, Inui sighed regretfully. While it would have been nice to update his notes on the High School developmental stages of the two second-years' volatile behavior, he had to give up one opportunity to concentrate on the other situation at hand.

Directing his attention so that he could watch Kikumaru, Oishi, and Fuji chat away amicably with their fangirls (or as agreeably as was possible for the previous two after the uncontrolled ambushes yesterday), he could also see that one particular division of the Fuji Triple AAA club, the what he liked to call "hardcore sector," had yet to arrive.

Therefore, he signaled to Fuji to wait a few more minutes before actually addressing the chaotic gathering.

Fuji had some interesting methods, he conceded privately. In fact, if there was anything reliable garnered off the mysterious boy after so many years, Inui would have to refer to the tensai's unique style of revenge.

Page two of Secret Data Volume # 0010 recorded that vengeance, after harboring a childhood's worth of brother-complexes, was Fuji Syuusuke's specialty.

Page eleven noted that deception was the preferred method, which ultimately ended with a full-frontal smack down.

Page ten of Secret Data Volume # 0297 had written that now the brother-complex had shifted into a boyfriend-complex...

There would be hell to pay.

However, even though he greatly admired and studied extensively the tennis prodigy's actions against unfortunate offenders, Inui believed himself to be just as creative and thorough as Fuji. The combination of an experimental-happy mind and a genuine curiosity, if given the right motivation, could yield extremely interesting results.

Besides, he'd already put his own two cents into the venture anyway.

"Inui-senpai?"

Rectangular frames glanced a little off to the side and down to acknowledge the familiar drawl of one tennis genius.

"Are you and Kaidoh-senpai going to come out of the closet too, after this?"

The surprised blink was hidden behind reflective lenses. Their youngest team member never failed to upset his data sometimes with his completely unorthodox manner of swerving from others' generalized perceptions of him.

"Not yet."

"Mmn..." A deceptively slender hand reached up to tug down the brim of the trademark white cap in mocking acknowledgement. "Good luck on collecting the data of the strange girls then, senpai."

Inui nodded to the younger boy who, despite moving around restlessly, was making a conscious effort to maintain the fence and a good six feet distance between him and the idolizing fans.

"... Ii data."

* * *

It took little more than five minutes for the stragglers to reach the already crowded courts.

Inui quietly pulled out the camcorder and activated the machinery with a soft, largely ignored, blip.

Meanwhile, making sure that no teacher would accidentally stumble upon this little scene (and sucks to be them if they did), Fuji finally moved to address his, and the others', followings.

"Good afternoon everybody. I realize that you must all be wondering what has been going on the past few days—"

The core of the Fuji Triple AAA club screamed in elation at hearing his voice.

"—and I must apologize for the inconvenience it may have caused some."

Kaidoh hissed from where he had Momoshirou in a two-way headlock.

"But this really is something that needed to be brought to your attentions."

"WE LOVE YOU FUJI-SAMAAAAAA!"

The speaker nodded vaguely at the direction where the stragglers were still filtering in.

A patented, guileless head tilt. "Maa. Please save your applause until the end, alright?"

"FUUUUUUUUUJIIIIIIIIIIIII—SENPAIIIIIIIIII!"

Fuji continued to smile disarmingly. "You've all seen and have heard rumors of me being in a relationship—"

"I'M MUCH MORE WOMAN THAN SHE'LL EVER BE FUJIIIIII!"

Ryoma twitched, much to the amusement of Inui who was closest to him.

"—but the thing is—"

"I WANT TO BEAR YOUR CHILDREN FUJI-SAMAAAA!"

"MARRY ME FUJI!"

Cat-like eyes snapped in irritation at the onslaught of last-minute love confessions.

Maybe Momo-senpai was right. Maybe he _had_ been spending too much time with the tensai in that he actually picked up some of Fuji's bad habits... like selfishness, for example.

But in retrospect, it wasn't that bad was it?

Turning and walking forward purposefully so that he was facing the unperturbed prodigy, he reached up and fisted both hands into the lapels of Fuji's tennis uniform.

Fuji was HIS dammit!

Barely aware of his surroundings and the slowly dying away sounds of the clamoring fangirls, Ryoma insistently tugged an abnormally docile Fuji down to look the smiling prodigy in the eye.

He hesitated, realizing what exactly he was about to do. This was in his character to be doing this, he realized.

Noticing his boyfriend's reluctance, Fuji took this abrupt change in events gracefully and opened his eyes to regard the younger player steadily.

"Do you like to share, Ryoma?" he murmured gravely.

A pair of ice-blue eyes made contact with burnished gold.

Boy wonder huffed indignantly before closing the almost non-existent distance between their faces and initiated a blatantly possessive kiss.

Of all the onlookers, (which totaled of about eighty-five percent of Seigaku's female population, as was later calculated by Inui), only the Regulars managed to keep their jaws from the ground.

And after what was clocked to be about one and a half minutes, Ryoma tried pulling away... only to find himself held firmly in place. Fuji, who had unobtrusively wound his arms around the smaller boy's waist, smirked into the kiss.

"GO FUJI! KEEP IT UP OCCHIBIIII! BUUUIIIII! PUT THAT PRACTICE TO GOOD USE, NYA!"

"Oh. My. God."

"There you are Tomo-chan! Mou, where were y... R-ryoma-kun...!"

"Ryo... Ryoma-sama... Eeh? Sakuno? I was looking all over for you!... Sakuno! Pull yourself together! Sakuno!"

Needless to say, the reactions amongst the spectators were quite varied.

"HORA HORA, COME ON ECHIZEN! FUUUJIIIII! I WON'T LET ANYONE STAND IN THE WAY OF YOUR LOVE! BUUUUURNING! YOUNG LOVE! SO BEEE-OOOO-TIII-FUUUUURUUUU!"

Ryoma opened an eye to look at the building chaos resulting from his and Fuji's blatantly made public display of affection.

A good many of the girls, regardless of which following they belonged to, were on the ground in graceless, gibbering heaps. Among them, he could also barely see a telltale rope of hair.

Ryuzaki Sakuno?

Mentally shrugging, he shut his eyes again at the sight of Kawamura Takashi brandishing what seemed to be the Culinary Club's standard issue, heavy-duty spatula.

Best to not think on it.

When they finally broke away for need of air, the entire compound was eerily silent.

Fuji curled a possessive arm around his boyfriend's waist, clearly enjoying the distress and denial that raged on numerous faces.

A slap in the face delivered very well, it seemed.

Seconds flew by and only the light scritch-scratchings of graphite on plain notebook paper was heard. "... ten seconds longer than yesterday's session." Inui fiddled with the mechanisms to the electronics equipment before setting it to stand by. He 'hmm-ed' speculatively as he compared time values. Perhaps Fuji has increased breathing exercises?

Not sharing the strange sense of humor the Regulars indulged in, one very outraged third year Kaichou drew herself up angrily, missing altogether the Fuji's not-so-hidden intentions now.

"T-that little bastard... he... he just kissed Fuji-sama...!" She stumbled unintelligibly. "That little first year brat just dashed the dreams and hearts of all the true women in Seigaku!"

Tomoka, ever sensitive to the safety and honor of her Oujisama, and despite being shocked out of ten years of her life, snapped a glare at the incoherent blonde.

"Hey! Nobody calls our Ryoma-sama a brat!" Tomoka poked an angry finger at the (still nameless) kaichou of Fuji's fan club. Scrounging up her face childishly, she blew a raspberry at the still weeping Fuji fan club conglomeration before turning to face the bemused pair.

"No matter who you choose to love Ryoma-samaaaa, the Echizen Ryoma—Seishun Gakuen Senior High no Oujisama—Appreciation Fan Club will always support you!"

The answering wave of cheers from the tear-choked Ryoma fan club was slow in coming, but came nonetheless. And it grew in a crescendo.

"WAAAAAAIIIIIIIII! RYOMA-SAMA!"

"YOU'LL ALWAYS BE THE ONE TRUE OUJI-SAMAAAA!"

"GOOD CHOICE RYOMA-SAAAAAMAAAAA!"

"EVEN THOUGH IT WASN'T TEZUKA-BUCHOU, YOU'RE STILL THE BEST ECHIZEN-KUN!"

And et cetera, et cetera.

Suddenly inexplicitly sad, Tomoka let her fellow fans a moment of cheer. But she on the other hand, felt miserable.

Disappointment.

In herself mostly. But also in the so-called president of the Fuji Triple AAA club.

Casting a not-so subtly scornful look at the pole-axed expression the other president sported, Tomoka stood up abruptly and exited the fangirl-press infested tennis courts.

Tomoka fought the urge to run herself into a wall. How long had the two prodigies been dating! Right now, the idea of bawling heedlessly sounded pretty good too. She was supposed to be his Number One Fan! And yet this most important aspect of Ryoma-sama's social life had eluded her for so long—it was absolutely shameful!

Dark brown eyes glinted purposefully as she reached for her cell phone. Well, she was going to remedy that.

Hauling up a groggy and bewildered Sakuno, she dragged her best friend off to a quieter area.

"I need your help if I'm to make this work, Sakuno..."

Sniff. "T-Tomo-chan! But... Ryoma-kun..."

Back within the confines of the tennis courts however, further mayhem was in the making.

"NYAAAAAAAAA, OISHIIIIII! THIS IS GREAT NYA! I can't believe that Ochibi and Fuji just went public! And everybody's so nice about it!" Kikumaru gushed, sparkling at his blushing doubles partner.

"E-Eiji..."

A cheeky grin made it's way onto the sharp face. "Nyaaaa, let's show Fuji _real_ practice, Golden Pair style, na? Don't you think it's about time?"

"W-what!"

"Hoi hoi! Pucker up Oishi!"

The petite redheaded Buchou of the acrobatic specialist's club gaped, the started jumping in place as Eiji proceeded to show the rest of the world just how **good** his and Oishi's combination was. "I knew it! I KNEW IT!" she squealed, soon accompanied by the Oishi fan club representatives. "OISHI-SENPAI AND KIKUMARU-SAMA MAKE SUCH A CUTE COUPLEEEE!"

"GOLDEN PAAAAAAIIIIIR! FIGHT ON!"

And as the chaos escalated again, left unbothered and to his own vices, Inui started to record once again.

"Heh. Data's data."

* * *

It took a while, but somehow the waves of fangirl-press people were persuaded to leave. After all the commotion died down, and Oishi decided that nobody in their right minds could practice under such circumstances, practice was canceled yet again.

However, just before Fuji left with his subdued boyfriend, he sought out the tall data-collector and pulled him off to the side.

"Ne, Inui."

"Hmm?"

Fuji tilted his head to regard the progress of the formation of new fanclubs while addressing his fellow conspirator. "Was it you who arranged for those girls to declare their 'undying love' for me?"

The bespectacled youth shrugged. "Aa. Thought it would give me better data on Echizen's behavior if he were exposed to different stimuli."

Fuji frowned, then smiled ever so slowly. "I see," he laughed softly. "Thank you, Inui."

The dark haired third year smiled in self-satisfaction as he put away his notebook and double-checked his copy of the video recording.

"No problem."

* * *

Three weeks later...

((Receiver: Tezuka Kunimitsu))

((Sender: Inui Sadaharu))

((Message: _Yo, Tezuka. How's it over there in Germany? _

_Nothing too drastic has been happening here. Although, I suppose you can say that it's gotten rather active as of late. In fact, the only way of describing what happened was that Fuji staged a coup against the Regulars' fan clubs. _

_I'm sure that you're absolutely dying to know what happened. _

_From what I last heard, Osakada has just recently reformed her previous fan club of Echizen worship into a "Fuji-Echizen Mad Love Appreciation Club." Somehow she managed to persuade the majority of Fuji's former fan club to merge and to form sub-divisions that hold counseling and support groups for those who need it. Apparently some of Fuji's and Echizen's fans are still in denial and need all the support they can get. _

_Oh yes. Incidentally, Ryuzaki Sakuno (remember her?) came out last Thursday to publicly announce her position as vice president of the support-group division. Since Ryuzaki-sensei changed her email address again, I've yet to find a way to inform her of her granddaughter's social status. _

_But anyway... In case you were wondering, Fuji's previous fan club President is determined to bring down Osakada. Through the school newspaper most recently, but we've all learned to ignore her bad attempts at journalism. _

_By the way, I'll have you know now, that the tape I sent you is actually a very hot commodity here. Most of the times it's out of stock, but since you're overseas and can't join in the entertainment, I saved you a copy. _

_Don't play too rough with the so-called "Ore-sama," ne? There's still a thirty percent chance that you can do something to injure your arm in too strenuous of activities. I advise to stay away from yoga until next month. _

_Either way, best of luck, and do plan on visiting us sometime okay? (Because I don't quite think our current captain is going to last very long... Not with all the offers from no-longer closet fanboys being made.) _

_Take care. _

—_ Inui ))_

* * *

**Fin**  
Completed: 06/07/04  
Revised: 04/03/05


End file.
